I got my first tattoo when I was 19 years old, a semicolon. A semicolon symbolizes the ability to stop but the choice to keep going often used in writing but relatable to life as well.

At first, people didn't understand the deeper meaning behind my tattoo. People were constantly joking that I really liked english or that they would get an exclamation point to symbolize their enthusiasm (to everyone who said this to me, believe it or not, you weren't the only one), or even that I should get a parenthesis to make it into a winky face. It was devastating that something that meant so much to me was a joke to the people around me, the people who were supposed to care about me.

For a while I rolled with the punches because it wasn't worth trying to explain to people who were too immature to understand it. Eventually I began responding by saying "It means the ability to stop but the choice to keep going, I have bad anxiety and it keeps me going." After a while, people started to get it. The typical response was: "Wow, that's deep."

I often feel judged by my anxiety, and therefore I am easily offended when someone makes a negative comment about my semicolon tattoo. Anxiety is something that has controlled my life for a long time. My tattoo reminds me that my story isn't over yet.

The semicolon tattoo became popular in 2013. People called this Project Semicolon; a movement to raise awareness of depression, anxiety, and other mental illnesses, and to inspire those who suffer from these diseases,and remind them that there is always hope.

My semicolon tattoo is a reminder that I am never alone. It means a lot to me, and if you don’t like it, I don’t care.